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Immunologic events very early in HIV infection may predict clinical events years later. Reasoning that this observation might hold for HIV-associated neurological syndromes as well, researchers sought to describe HIV-related events within the central nervous system during the first few weeks of infection. The study was conducted in Thailand.
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis in 18 individuals with acute HIV infection, performed a median of 17 days after the estimated date of exposure, revealed signs of inflammation in 5 (elevated white blood cell count in 4 and elevated CSF protein in 2). HIV RNA was detectable in the CSF from 15 of 18 participants; levels correlated with those in plasma but were overall about 2.4 log copies/mL lower. CSF n…